Learning to Sew

I am working to add sewing to my list of abilities. I recently had two baby showers to attend. They were the first ones since I lost the baby in January. I was not looking forward to them at all, in spite of the fact that I am pregnant again. (16 weeks Monday) I remembered my friend Melissa saying that having a gift she was excited to give gave her the motivation she needed to start attending these things again. So I gave it a whirl. I have a lot of improving to do but it was a fun project.

The first was a playmat for my friend Mina. They aren't finding out the sex of the baby so I got this pretty neutral fabric. I attached 2 ribbon loops for toys. You can see one on the top right here.

The second gift was for Brenna. She was having a boy. I decided on a taggie toy and a burp cloth for her. The taggie rag has a thick plastic bag for that fun crinkle noise and ribbon loops around the edges. I also added a couple of buttons for fun. I sewed them on as firmly as humanly possible. Plus they are over-sized so on the off change they somehow managed to come off, baby would have a really difficult time choking on them. Saftey first!

Dresser Makeover

We have recently hit the roadside jackpot! Matt was driving through our 'hood and spotted this lovely dresser out for trash pick up. My loving husband knew I had been in the market to replace our tv/media cainet with a made over dresser. So check out the before and after!

Recognize this? It was in your grandmother's house circa 1980.

Sanded and center drawers removed. New shelf created.

Backing, sides and bottom created. Painted white and knobs sprayed a dark pewter color.

I used my sand block to rough up the edges and corners to give it a little more of a worn look.

Total cost - about $15.

Next up is another freebie found literally in front of our house. Our next door neighbor was throwing out 2 dressers. We have been eyeing this one at Ikea for a year or more now ut since we had a functioning dresser we never could justify buying a new one just because we liked it more. The only problem was that one of the big drawers was broken and so was a support bar. These were not problems as far as Matt was concerned. He used pieces from the other dresser, rebuilt the drawer then used wood glue and paint to repair the support bar. You can actually see it more clearly in the picture than you can in real life. See the dark spot (from a scratched lens)? Just to the right  is the repainted patched spot. And I don't even remember which drawer he rebuilt. You can't tell at all. Pretty impressive for a "not very handy" guy!

Total cost - $0.

Creative Thinking

Here are some of my latest creations. I am preparing for my first craft show. Let's hope somebody likes these enough to pay me for them!

Mason Jar Candles

sold individually or as a set of 3

Christmas Card Wreath

Keeps all those cards organized and on display!

Scripture Canvas

Proverbs 31:25

(Sold)

Scripture Canvas

Joshua 24:15

(Sold)

Christmas Canvas Art

"Tis the Season"

Dry Erase To Do Lists

(Sold)

Book Page Wreath

Medium

Large

(Sold)

Dry Erase "Grateful" Board

Keep a visual reminder of all that you are grateful for with this dry erase "grateful" board. When it gets too full simply wipe it clean and start again.

Tea Cup Pin Cushion

(Sold)

Coffee Cup Pin Cushion

Book Wreath

I did it! I finally finished my book wreath. I was motivated to start it a couple of months ago but once I got about 75% done my motivation went kaput! Matt went to a movie with a friend tonight and since I finished one of my scrapbooks last week (I still need to complete Cam's 1st year book) I turned my focus to the wreath. I am really pleased with it. I checked out this blog as well as this one as well as a few others before attempting my own. I am only sorry I don't have the awesome camera or photography skills that other bloggers do to show off my handiwork.

I think I can...!

For a long time, most of my life, I have not felt very "crafty." My mother always made things for the church's Christmas Craft Show, my grandmother paints, my aunts make various things but for whatever reason I always felt like I wasn't any good at crafting. A few years ago I decided to make a scrapbook and I really enjoyed it. I even felt like I had done a pretty good job at it. Not long after I completed that book I discovered that I was pregnant with Connor and began making a book for him. I had more confidence in my ability to make scrapbooks but still was not adventurous enough to try anything new.

For whatever reason that has all changed. In November I attempted some Christmas art:

Then in January we had a MOPS craft day where we got together and made growth charts for our kids. I already blogged about that but here is a picture of ours in case you missed it:

Then, with Matt's growing desire to be more handy we decided that we could tackle making our own upholstered headboard. Here's the result:

We have upholstery studs to put on it for more visual interest but we have yet to accomplish that. We'll get there though!

Here's an up close look at the fabric. It's an orange tweed with lots of dark red and golden yellow in it.

And we have replaced our bedding with this qulit & shams from West Elm and we love it.

I would also like to paint my walls a dark, dusty yellow and put these curtains up:

I do realize that buying new bedding and curtains does not qualify for being crafty but I have yet to learn the skill of sewing. One thing at a time!

Then I made two more growth charts for friends. I forgot to photograph the other one but it was yellow with brown and white polka-dots.

Then, more recently a friend posted a link to this blog post with a tutorial on how to make this painting. Since I had all the supplies at home, I decided to give it a whirl. It's now hanging above the toilet in my bathroom.

Next, I made a vase for some flowers at a baby shower I helped host this weekend. Again, I had all the supplies on hand (yeah for free crafts!)

And finally I splurged on some Easter candy and made this fun little spring decoration.

Next on my list is one of these:

They are book wreaths. I have everything but the foam wreath but I will be sure to blog about it when it's all done.

As you can see I have discovered a new hobby. I find it refreshing and even therapeutic to make things with my hands.

$5 Make Over

We inherited these large vases last Fall and I have just been at a loss as to what to do with them. I knew I wanted them but I also knew they were dated and just didn't really match my decor. Today I bought a $5 can of spray paint with a "hammered metal" finish and voila! New vases!

They still need a little something to make them complete but that's a project for another day.

Growth Chart

I made a growth chart recently with some friends & wanted to share the end result!



Connor wasn't too happy about having to pose for a picture but he survived.

Thankful Tree

At MOPS this week our craft was a Thankful Tree. We used pots and Styrofoam to create little trees and attached paper leaves. On each leaf we were to write something we were thankful for. It was a craft that we were told to take home and finish with our kids so that they could list things that they are thankful for too. Seeing as Connor is not speaking (except for "DaDa") I went ahead and filled my leaves myself. Matt added a few too. It was also a great exercise in counting my blessings, as there are many! Here's the final product. I think it's pretty cute!

Here is one of my most cherished blessings!